BORN AGAIN. 



393 



At the bright 



Waters of Leiptr 1 



And at the rain-cold 



Eock of the sea. 



The ship shall not move 



Which should carry thee, 



Though a fair wind to thy wish 



Blows on it. 



The horse shall not run 



Which is to run with thee, 



Though thou hast to 



Escape from thy foes. 



The sword shall not bite 

 Which thou drawest, 

 Except when it sings 

 About thy own head ; 

 Then were the death 

 Of Helgi avenged, 

 If thou wert an outlaw 

 Out in the forest, 

 Lacking property 

 And all enjoyment, 



And hadst not food 

 Unless thou tearest corpses. 



Dag. 



Mad art thou, sister, 

 And out of thy wits 

 As thou invokest curses 

 On thy brother ; 

 Odin alone 

 Causes all the ills, 

 For between kinsmen 

 Eunes of strife he bore. 



Thy brother offers thee 

 Eed rings, 2 

 All Vandilsve 3 

 And Vigdalir ; 4 

 Take half of my lands 

 As indemnity for sorrow, 

 Thou ring-adorned maiden 

 And thy sons. 



" Sigrun was short-lived from grief and sorrow. It was the 

 belief in olden times that men were reborn, but now it is called 

 an old woman's story. It is said that Helgi and Sigrun were 

 born again ; he was then named Helgi Haddingjaskati, and she 

 Kara, 5 Halfdan's daughter, ' as is sung in the lay of Kara, 6 and 

 she was a Valkyria.' ' [Helgi Hundingsbani II.] 



1 Leiptr = flash of lightning. Probably 

 this was a swift river, or waterfall. 



2 Here we see the custom of wergild, 

 so often described in the Sagas. 



3 The temple of Vandil. 



4 Valleys of fight. 



5 Cf. also Helga Kvida Hjorvardsonar. 



6 The song of Kara is lost. Svafa in 

 the first song, Sigrun in the second, is 

 Svafa reborn ; and Kara in the third and 

 lost song is Sigrun reborn. 



